The Shared Qualities of Opposing Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations Can Merge Characteristics Between Different Groups

Cultural and geographical borders often create the illusion of stark differences between societies. While it is commonly believed that the qualities of one group do not merge with those of another, evidence suggests otherwise. Through cultural relations, certain characteristics can emerge as shared traits among diverse groups. In Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, John Demos's The Unredeemed Captive, and John Sayles’ 1996 film Lone Star, we observe how seemingly disparate groups can exhibit common qualities. This essay will delve into the shared attributes between Hmong parents and American doctors, Iroquois Indians and Protestants, as well as Americans and Mexicans, illustrating that even the most different people can find common ground.

The Struggle for Cultural Identity

Maintaining cultural traditions in a foreign land is a formidable challenge, as depicted in Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The Hmong community in the United States faced significant obstacles due to a lack of understanding from their American neighbors. The Hmong sought to preserve their identity, desiring to live in enclaves free from external interference: “What the Hmong wanted here was to be left alone to be Hmong: clustered in all-Hmong enclaves, protected from government interference, self-sufficient, and agrarian” (Fadiman, 183). Despite their desire for autonomy, Hmong parents Foua and Nao Kao Lee found themselves compelled to adapt. To support their daughter Lia, who suffered from seizures, they needed to learn English and navigate the American healthcare system.

In turn, American doctors were required to understand the Hmong culture to effectively treat Lia. This exchange of knowledge and beliefs exemplified how cultural and medicinal boundaries can be transcended. The shared goal of ensuring Lia's health fostered an environment where both groups learned from each other, highlighting the potential for shared qualities across cultural divides.

Adopting New Values

The ability to adopt new cultural values while discarding old ones is explored in Demos's The Unredeemed Captive. Many Protestant children captured by Iroquois Indians assimilated into their captors' culture, abandoning their previous religious beliefs. Eunice Williams, a Protestant girl taken by the Iroquois at the age of seven, illustrates this transformation. After living among the Iroquois for several years, Eunice chose not to return to her Protestant upbringing: “By 1707, Eunice was reported to be ‘unwilling to return.’ And the Indians -- including, one presumes, her new family -- ‘would as soon part with their hearts’ as with this successfully ‘planted’ child” (Demos, 146). Eunice's experience reflects a broader theme of cultural blending, akin to the experience of the Lees and the American doctors in Fadiman’s narrative.

Both Eunice and the Lee family found themselves navigating the complexities of cultural integration. Eunice embraced Iroquois values, while the Lees had to adapt to American medical practices to ensure their daughter’s wellbeing. In both cases, crossing cultural boundaries led to the establishment of shared qualities that transcended their original identities.

Shared Traditions Across Borders

John Sayles’ film Lone Star further illustrates the emergence of shared traditions among groups separated by cultural boundaries. The film’s protagonist, Sheriff Buddy Deeds, embodies the contradictions of maintaining order in a segregated community. Although he is viewed as a hero, Buddy’s past reveals a more complex reality. He attempted to enforce segregation in his town, as reflected in a bartender's comment: “Place like this, twenty years ago, Buddy would have been on them [referring to an interracial couple]. He would have went over there and give them a warning. Not ’cause he had it in for the colored, but just as kind of safety tip.”

Despite his segregationist beliefs, Buddy's personal life tells a different story. He had relationships with women from both sides of the cultural divide, fathering children with both an American and a Mexican woman. This duality mirrors Eunice Williams’ experience in The Unredeemed Captive. Both Buddy and Eunice lived at the intersection of different cultural identities, embodying the shared qualities that arose from their experiences.

Conclusion: The Power of Cultural Interaction

Through cultural interactions, diverse groups can develop shared characteristics that challenge the notion of inherent differences. The cases of the Hmong parents and American doctors, Eunice Williams and the Iroquois, as well as Buddy Deeds in Lone Star, demonstrate how cultural relations can bridge divides. The Hmong had to learn to navigate American culture for their daughter’s sake, Eunice adopted Iroquois values, and Buddy Deeds lived a life that belied his public persona. These examples illustrate that, despite cultural or geographical borders, shared qualities can emerge, revealing our common humanity.

References

• Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.
• Demos, John. The Unredeemed Captive. Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.
• Sayles, John, director. Lone Star. 1996.